FDA panel considers first pill for ragweed allergy

1:11 PM,
Jan. 31, 2014

Written by

Steven Reinberg
HealthDay

There may be good news coming in the form of a pill for the millions of Americans who suffer from ragweed allergy.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Allergenic Products Advisory Committee will consider whether to recommend approval of the first pill to prevent this annual scourge.

Ragwitek, the brainchild of Merck & Co., is made of ragweed pollen and helps the body become immune to it. Patients begin taking the pill, which is placed under the tongue, 12 weeks before the ragweed pollen season begins and continue through the season's end. In the United States, the ragweed ...